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| Helping the Women of the DRC An examination of the violence against the women of the Democratic Republic of Congo By: Nicola Pioppi The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of resources. Congo’s major exports are copper, gold, and diamonds. Additionally, the country is one of the top producers of tantalum, a major component in cell phone and computer manufacturing; basically, a resource our industrial world couldn’t function without. Yet the government and culture are unstable, rife with political struggle and daily violence, particularly against women. In 1994 the neighboring country of Rwanda was caught up in a civil war, which led to the genocide of over 800,000 people. The violence of Rwanda made its way into Congo, and since then the Congolese army and foreign and native rebels have been fighting for control of the country and its resources. Since 2005, 17,000 United Nations troops have arrived and attempted to facilitate peace in the country, but there is still fighting in eastern Congo, putting the entire nation at risk of an all-consuming civil war. 500,000 Congolese have been uprooted due to the fighting, carrying their lives on their backs in an effort to find food and safe harbor. Camps have sprung up to provide shelter to these displaced people, but even here the Congolese are unprotected, suffering violence and abuse even at the hands of the armies placed there for that very purpose. Anneka Van Woudenberg, the senior Congo Researcher at Human Rights Watch, reported to Anderson Cooper in his CNN Special Report (linked at the end of the article) “…rape is now on a daily basis—rape is the norm.” “It is the systematic nature of [the rapings]…It is a way to ensure that communities accept the power and the authority of [a] particular armed group. This is about using [rape] as a weapon of war.” Women are often tied up and then gang raped and beaten in full view of their families or even their entire communities. Some women are kidnapped and treated as sex slaves in the soldiers’ camps. Those lucky enough to escape are more often than not abandoned by their communities, even their husbands and families. The women are either forced to leave their homes and children, or find shelter for themselves and their children elsewhere. And the enemy soldiers are not the only ones raping them; many of their rapists are fellow citizens, even members of their communities, who know that the unstable Congo government does not have the power or the will to prosecute them. Because of this, many rapes go unreported, and of those reported, very few ever make it to trial. Women for Women International, one of the organizations trying to raise awareness of this issue, reports that as much as 16% of the population are victims of sexual violence, and 12% have survived multiple attacks. This means that 75% of sexual victims suffer repeat attacks. Often the women are assaulted with objects; the result of this and repeated raping is genital damage, or worse, premeditated genital mutilation by the rapist. This, in addition to the bruises, cuts, and broken bones suffered during beatings, and the malnutrition and starvation that the communities are already suffering from. Panzi Hospital in eastern Congo, at the front of the line, sees many women coming and going through its doors each week. Here they can be treated for their wounds, which can require several surgeries to repair. Sometimes even this is not enough. And there is not enough room in the hospital to tend to the women properly. Women for Women International helps the women by focusing on life after the physical treatment of wounds. Women in their one-year program are granted food, water, medicine, and most importantly, an education. For most of these women it is the first time in their lives they are being taught reading and writing skills. The program is focused on teaching both job skills and sustainable life skills to ensure their continued success in living a stable and independent life when they have left the program. Eve Ensler, the founder of V-Week, an international effort to stop violence against women, launched “Stop Raping our Greatest Resource: Power to Women and Girls in Democratic Republic of Congo” in September of this year. This global campaign is aimed at raising awareness of the situation, and mobilizing the women of the world to affect change in Congo. |
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